


Promise

by azmadeus_mozart



Series: Promise [1]
Category: Free!
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-26
Updated: 2014-07-26
Packaged: 2018-02-10 11:13:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2022999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/azmadeus_mozart/pseuds/azmadeus_mozart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Momo.” Voice a deep growl. “I’m very busy, exams are coming up.” He paused giving the young energetic boy a long hard stare. “You should really be studying, if your grades aren’t good enough you won’t make the team.” Captain mode activate! He’d heard one of the other first years refer to his stern voice as that; it honestly amused him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Promise

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to my lovely Cousin who beta'd this fic, it reads much better now. It was a really personal piece for me, but I enjoyed writing it and I hope people enjoy reading it.

Rin had had it up to here with Momotarou, mentally picturing the largest building he was aware of- no. Mount Everest. That was the magnitude of just how done with the younger Mikoshiba that he was. Even Seijuurou hadn’t been this annoying or insistent. But with this guy, he couldn’t even hear himself thinking. Was he even thinking anymore? Well, yes, but not of the things that he needed to; more how much he really didn’t want this kid dating his sister!

                For the past twenty minutes, the young sea otter seemed to be on a tangent of how wonderful Rin’s sister was; how amazing and cute ‘Gou-san’ was. If it weren’t so pathetically annoying, Rin might actually find it funny. She hardly even knew Momotarou’s name. It changed every time the backstroke swimmer spoke to her; and strangely enough, it seemed as though she wasn’t doing it on purpose. Gou genuinely didn’t appear to know his name.

“Momo.” His voice a deep growl. “I’m very busy, exams are coming up.” He paused, giving the young energetic boy a long hard stare. “You should really be studying. If your grades aren’t good enough you won’t make the team.” Captain mode activate! He’d heard one of the other first years refer to his stern voice as that. It honestly amused him.

                “Huh? Did you say something?” Having never stopped to listen to a word Rin had said, Momo was off in his own little world; vividly imaging Gou’s flowing red hair, her beautiful eyes. He was somewhat shocked when he realised he was staring into a very, very similar pair. Rin and Gou were siblings, so it did make sense.

Rin pulled the younger male into a headlock, roughing up his hair, knuckles dragging across his skull; even his hand was burning a little from the friction. “I said if you fail your exams, you’re off the team.” The school did have an image to uphold and no matter how talented a swimmer might be, if they couldn’t meet all the standards they’d be unable to compete and represent Samezuka Academy.

                “Ouch, ouch, ouch.” Momotarou winced, hating it when Rin did something like that. Although having now received the message loud and clear, as well as the dull throbbing pain on his head, Momotarou’s face fell into a pout.  “Of course I won’t fail.” A pained string of emotion was present in his voice. How could his beloved captain doubt him? He wouldn’t really admit to not studying. All he’d been able to think about was Gou since the Iwatobi gang visited the other day for joint practice. She’d called him Kotarou, his heart had melted.

“Anyway, just get out. I have studying of my own to do.” His gaze darkened, locked on Momotarou’s eyes. “If my grades drop because of you, the consequences will be worse than a noogie.” Admittedly, that was a little dark even for his tastes. Rin also knew he wouldn’t actually be able to hurt the kid, he did like him a lot... Momo was just a little intense at times.

                He watched as the other walked away. Momo looked somewhat defeated. But it wasn’t Rin’s concern; he was really beginning to go just a little crazy. The younger boy was great when he wasn’t talking about Rin’s sister; he was even pleasant to be around. Sometimes he got too close, and was a little touchy feely. But Matsuoka had found he really didn’t mind it all that much. In fact, the more the shark toothed swimmer thought about it, the more he realised he adored Momo’s little bouts of affection.

Gaze flickering to his phone, Rin came to the conclusion that there was only one way to fix all of this.  He quickly dialled his sister’s number and waited for the receiver to pick up. “Gou.” He winced slightly at the excitable way she said his name.  “I need you to do something for me.” He paused, sucking in a deep breath. He really couldn’t believe he was doing this. “Take Momotarou on a date, just one date. I need to study, and he’s annoying as hell if I’m honest...” Rin recited to her the young ginger's number. “You don’t have to do anything, just distract him. Maybe he’ll stop pestering you as well.” Rin loved his sister, but she really wasn’t as world breaking as Momotarou seemed to think she was.

***

An hour later after having Rin yell at him, Momotarou was back to his usual self, playing very loudly on the floor of his and Nitori’s room with his army men. Thus a full scale war has broken out between two factions: Red and Yellow on one team, Seijuurou’s old team; blue and green on the other, his.

                Nitori couldn’t help but roll his eyes at the younger male, he was weird and Ai still wasn’t sure whether or not he liked him. At times like this he definitely didn’t like Momotarou, and really cursed Rin for pairing them up together as roommates. He suddenly regretted every annoying thing he did around Rin during his first year.

“Corporal, we need back up!” He made a loud explosion sound with his mouth. At times there was even a fully scored soundtrack. Momotarou was about to start mourning the loss of his troops when his phone began ringing.

                The number wasn’t one he recognised. Momotarou waited for it to ring out. Maybe they hadn’t meant to call him. But when it began to ring again, he was sure that the call was for him, though he had absolutely no idea who it was.

“Hello?” He was hesitant and questioning. Nitori was surprised he was capable of such a meek sound when speaking.

                “G-Gou-san?! No, my name’s not Momota-“ Holy shit, she got his name right! This was the very first time and he was in blissful heaven. If he didn’t know what creaming himself felt like, he was sure the feeling would definitely be this, because... he was just that elated; he was sure that something wonderful just happened to his body. “A... a date? With me?” He could hardly contain himself now, his pulse was rushing, and his head was reeling, overwhelmed by so many different thoughts. Most of all though, his mouth was running much faster than the speed of light.

Had Momo not been so loud, Nitori could have been heard very audibly groaning in the most displeased of manners, getting up from his chair and quickly exiting the room before he went deaf listening to the backstroke swimmer chewing off both his and Gou’s ears. He really did not like Momotarou.

                With the second year gone, Momotarou was firing off all sorts of questions and comments to the poor girl on the other end. When she finally did hang up on him without actually saying goodbye, Momotarou felt just a little defeated. The feeling didn’t last long of course; he was far too bright of a person to remain bogged down by yucky feelings for anything more than a second.

He was soon smiling and shaking in excitement to himself; panicking also with what he was meant to wear, and where he was supposed to ask her to go. Once more the young Mikoshiba was filled with dread. This whole taking someone on a date was much harder than it seemed, and with someone like Gou-san it had to be perfect.

                He stood, running out of his room calling for Rin who was just across the hall, voice resonating off the walls. “Captain!” The guy only had two volumes, loud and louder. This one appeared to be a third, so loud Rin was surprised his ear drums hadn’t burst.

***

From the other side of the door, Rin groaned, hearing it smack against the wall as it burst open and a flash of red appeared by his side. By the way the younger male was acting, you’d think he’d hurt himself or something.

                “C-captain?!?” Momo stuttered. “Please, help me. The most amazing thing happened. Gou-san asked me on a date. What should I wear? How should I talk? Where should we go? Should I give her something? What’s her favourite colour? When is her birthday? Do you think she likes beetles?” Mouth running at a million miles an hour; it was almost amazing that he could say so much in such a small breath.

Of course Rin wasn’t surprised that Gou had done what he’d asked; she’d probably do anything for him. But surprise still managed to creep on this face, eyebrows shooting up in a seemingly genuine manner. “Really?” He put a thumb to his own chin, gaze tilting to the top bunk where Sousuke was watching them with a bemused expression.

                The captain smirked just a little; he wasn’t going to let his best friend get off scot-free who seemed to be doing anything rather than study. “Just shut up for a second, Momo.” There was no harshness to his voice, but a gentle calming sort of tone. “I think you should talk to Sousuke about this, he has lots of experience dating.” He was not really sure if it was a lie or not, they’d never spoken about it. They were both focussed on different things.

A frown knotted in Sousuke’s brow, shooting a look at Nitori, hidden between a desk and the wall, who seemed to be rather horrified by the whole ordeal. Using him as a scapegoat would be just a little mean; he decided to just go along with whatever game Rin was playing. “Yeah, come on Momo.” He jumped down from the bunk and moving over to the young redhead, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. “We have a lot to talk about.” He pushed him out of the room and followed behind.

                “I thought he’d never shut up.” Nitori commented, moving out of his space beside the other desk.

Rin nodded, checking his phone. “Hmm, I really do owe Gou for this one.” He typed her out a message of thanks and also good luck; she was definitely going to need it. “I should have known he’d be noisy, but hopefully Sousuke can get through to him."

***

Over the course of the next few days, Momotarou was highly distracted. His grades were sliding because he was not paying attention in class, and he’d been sent out for being a disruption more than once. It was embarrassing to say the least. On the third day he was told if things didn’t improve then his parents would be phoned. His concentration rose only slightly.

                Rin couldn’t help but notice that Momotarou’s times were also slipping; worse than they did normally. He was well aware that the young swimmer's time fluctuated from practice to practice, but he’d just been consistently terrible. At that rate, Rin was worried that Momotarou wouldn’t do well for their trials next week when exams were over. “Sousuke, take Momo outside and give him a little pep talk.” It was obvious that his swimming wasn’t the issue.

***

Outside, wrapped up in their towels, the two of them stood as shielded from the wind as possible.  “Alright, tell me why you’re freaking out.” Sousuke sounded a little sterner than he did the other day; it was clear that he thought Momotarou was a hopeless case at this point in time.

                “I-it’s tomorrow. My date with Gou-san is tomorrow! What do I do Sousuke?!” He was more or less crying into the other male’s chest, lacking any sense of personal space. It was definitely something that needed working on, as did his motor mouth.

Sousuke sighed, running a hand through his damp hair. This was a lot harder than he’d first thought it was the other day. “I thought we talked about this, Momo.” He wasn’t all that impressed, and he was also wondering why Rin didn’t do this himself even though it was swim practice and Rin was the captain...

                “Yes, but it's tomorrow. What if I mess things up?” Momotarou whined. He was well aware that they’d already talked about this a few days ago when Gou had initially made contact with him. Momo had even messaged her several times since then, but her replies weren’t very enthusiastic and he could see she had little interest especially as they weren’t in real time. “I don’t really think she likes me much...”

“The only way to mess things up is if you’re too full on. Just relax, listen to what she has to say... and be yourself. You can talk about the things that make you happy, but you have to listen...” He was listening now. It was a good sign. Perhaps not all was lost for Momotarou, though it would easily change. “Anyway, you’re done for the day; just hit the showers and rest.” Sousuke didn’t really have the power to dismiss him, but he was sure that Rin would have done the same.

***

The following day Momotarou was a ball of nervous energy, waiting at the station for Gou to appear. Last night they’d decided on staying near the Academy as she was sure that he’d get lost down by the seaside. Admittedly, that would have been a preferable location for a date. Momotarou noticed her stepping off the train. He rushed over and shouted her name.

                “Gou-san!” He waved eagerly. She didn’t look at all impressed and he couldn’t help but notice it this time, especially after all the things Sousuke had said to him during the week.

“Momotarou.” Her tone was pleasant, but her eyes said she’d rather be doing something else. She didn’t dislike the Mikoshiba, but she could tell that today was going to be incredibly difficult. At the very least though, it was only a movie and then late lunch. “We better go; otherwise we’ll miss the start.” Gou turned and began walking, able to hear Momotarou a step or two behind.

                Momo nodded, following her silently. He was staring at her hand. He wanted to slip her hand inside his, but something told him that it wouldn’t be appreciated so he decided against it. He attempted to make small talk, asking her about things other than beetles, trying to talk about things other than himself. Mikoshiba felt oddly self absorbed.

The movie part of the date goes well enough, but Momotarou felt that things were a little tense. They were both relatively silent save for comments each of them made about what was happening on-screen. It wasn’t the sort of movie Momotarou would usually find himself watching, and afterwards he found out that Gou wasn’t really into it either.

***

Lunch was going a little better so far. They were talking, both of them, and quite excitedly. Gou sighs, mainly because they’d only been talking about her brother all this time. She was sure that Momotarou liked her, but that was in doubt now. He was a sweet kid, but the way he was talking about her brother was similar to the way Haruka-senpai spoke about pools and water.

                “Momo-chan, do you... like my brother?” Her question is clear. She can see that it shocks him;, and also that he doesn’t understand. For her, it isn’t really a loss – Gou didn’t have feelings like that for Momotarou. She was never even sure if she liked Seijuurou, and they hung out quite a bit. “You just seem really fond of him... it’s hard to describe.” Rin was the only thing he’d been talking about for the last fifteen minutes, and it wasn’t that rambunctious sort of chatter either. It came across as somewhat meaningful to her.

Gou felt a little bad however, as he looked incredibly flushed, possibly somewhat upset. Maybe she shouldn’t have said anything. But the curiosity was far too irresistible. He’d fallen incredibly silent now, more so than he’d been the whole day. “I can walk you back to the academy if you like?” She offered. However, as Momo silently gets up and makes to leave – Gou figured it’s better not to press the issue, but messaged her brother instead.

_‘The date is over. I don’t really know what he got out of it... he spoke about you a lot. He seems to really like his captain. In fact, you were the only thing he spoke about all day... I’d even read up on all different kinds of beetles. He’s gone now... I don’t really know if he’s alright. But I need to head back to town, so maybe you could check up on him?’_

***

Rin was staring at his phone. He couldn’t really make heads or tails of what Gou was trying to say. He did, however, feel bad that the two of them spent all that time talking about him. He even said as much to her, also assuring her that he’ll check on Momotarou.

                “Rin-senpai... Mikoshiba’s brother has gone.” Nitori bursts through the door. “He spoke to the school and said he’s needed at home. Momo’s already left, we won’t catch him... I found a note.” Nitori produced a piece of paper that had basically said the same thing in near illegible writing.

Both of them were surprised that the school would allow a student to leave when they had exams on this week, and their trials next weekend.

                Rin was a little more worried now, with Gou’s text message and now this. It was probably too late to catch Momotarou, at the very least he could send a message asking for the backstroke swimmer to call him when he arrives home. “At this rate, I really don’t think he can make the team for summer...” He sighed, a little disappointed. It would have been nice to compete with him, and he knew that Momotarou was itching for a rematch against Makoto who would probably beat him again.

***

The journey home was long and arduous. There was an uncomfortable ache weighing down on his stomach. Momotarou was also sweating as if he had a high fever; ever since lunch he’d just been feeling ill, filled with dread. On the way back to the academy he’d called Seijuurou to ask if he was at home. Finding himself happy with the answer, he notified his older brother that he’d be around for the week, because he’d been sent home sick.

                Trekking home from the station was almost too painful. His body was sore, his mind was a mess. When he arrived, he found out it was only going to be him and Seijuurou. Their parents and sister were gone for the weekend.

“Momo?” Seijuurou looked up from the couch. He'd been watching swimming on the television. Even in the dark light he could see that something was off, the usually loud, bright, happy boy seemed so dull and withdrawn. He stood and crossed the room to scoop up his little brother. “What’s wrong?”

                Momotarou buried his face in his brother’s chest, taking in the familiar smell that was so much like his own. His arms wrapped tightly around Seijuurou. He felt safe here, and his troubles seemed like they were dissolving. A hand ran through his hair. Everything Seijuurou did was comforting, but only for so long.

He did everything he could for his little brother as they didn’t have as many chances to see each other anymore. There were even less now that Seijuurou was in university and Momotarou was finally in highschool. Sei remembered how he used to calm the younger boy when he was little, and it seemed to be working, though he could feel Momo’s body tremble in his arms as he was racked by violent sobs. It was really difficult for him to process as he’d never seen Momotarou like this before - he the eternal ray of sunshine; always happy and on the go. “Shhh, it’s alright... just tell me what happened.” He placed a soft kiss on messy red hair.

                The younger Mikoshiba couldn’t really speak right now, he was surprised by the sounds coming out of his own mouth, the tears that spilled from his eyes, the heavy feeling in his stomach that weighed him down to the point it felt as though he’d combust or sink into the ground. He tried desperately to calm himself, but it seemed so futile. It wasn’t until someone else had said it, that he realised that things weren’t how he wanted them to be, not how he thought they were expected to be. “I... I... Seijuurou... I think I’m gay. I like Rin.” An ugly sob resounded in the room.

Seijuurou’s hold tightened on the smaller male. He almost wanted to laugh because it was such a stupid thing to be upset about. That much he knew after his time in high school, when he realised that both boys and girls can be cute. But he didn’t want to make this about himself, this was all about his little brother and what he could do for him. He was fairly sure that his parents wouldn’t react as well as he was. But that was parents for you. “Oi, that’s nothing to be upset about Momo. Guys can be just as cute as girls you know. Like, look at you, you’re the cutest boy I know.”

                “Rin’s a pretty cute guy himself... are you worried he’d be upset with you? Because he wouldn’t.” If anything, that guy would probably be worried for Momotarou. That was the sort of person Rin was, especially now that he had sorted out that pain in his heart. “Don’t cry and hate yourself, Momotarou.” He could feel the strain on his voice now, hearing it crack in the air. “That’ll make me cry as well. You wouldn’t want your big brother to cry now, would you?”

“You’re not mad at me?” The younger boy sniffled against Seijuurou’s chest; really surprised by the way Seijuurou was speaking right now. He knew his brother wasn’t stupid, or an airhead. He tended to act that way at times; but Momo wasn’t aware that Seijuurou could be this serious about things. It made him feel a little better, but they both knew this revelation wasn’t something that would be fixed by some kind words and a loving embrace.

                “Of course, I could never be mad with you.” Maybe if he was lying to himself; but that’d be a completely different story. “I even find some guys cute myself.” This had surprised him at first, but he decided there was nothing wrong with that, also having an attraction to girls meant nobody would ever have to know that he found some guys pleasing to the eye. Momotarou seemed to think he didn’t have an attraction to them at all. “It’s not easy, I know. But you’ve always got me to talk to. You have my number? If you’re feeling uneasy or upset, you can just call me, Momo. I’ll always pick up or call you back.”

“Sei...” He was unable to continue whatever thought he was about to voice as a fresh set of tears cascaded down his face. He moved to the couch by his older brother, where he sat leaning against him, letting out all of the negative feelings he carried. Something he’d been holding onto for as long as he could remember, something he’d been worried about since being insulted for swimming when he was younger; feelings he’d tried to fabricate for Gou.

_‘Matsuoka, you had better be treating my little brother well.’_

Seijuurou felt that it was worth saying something to him; nothing specific, but just something to make sure that Momotarou didn’t say anything stupid to Rin already. That wouldn’t have gone down exceptionally well. He was yet to find out how he actually came to his rather startling revelation.

                His phone buzzed _. ‘Of course, why wouldn’t I be?’_

 _‘No reason. Try not to hurt him.’_ That was all Seijuurou felt that he needed to say. Turning his attention back to the worn out boy slumped against his chest, he pulled the blanket up to Momo’s shoulders while also wrapping it around himself. He joined his little brother in sleep, an arm wrapped securely around his waist that said, _‘It’s okay, I’m here. I won’t let anything hurt you.’_

***

A week later, Momotarou was back at the academy. He was about to go for his time trial to see if he would qualify for the team or not, and his exams needed to be made up next week, however, being a first year he didn’t have as many as most of the team. He kicked off the wall and began his backstroke, swimming toward the other wall.

                It was obvious to spectators that he wasn’t doing as well as he usually did. Of course, unknown to them, and despite his mood seeming relatively good, he was still not at peace with himself and it was definitely affecting his performance. It wasn’t his slowest recorded time but he was instantly aware that it wasn’t enough to qualify. You could see on his face just how upset by this he was.

Rin was already walking toward him, his face clearly showing the strain of disappointment. He gestured for Momotarou to follow him so they could talk somewhere private. “I’m sorry Momo, but you haven’t made the team this time round... There’s always next year though, and I’m sure you’ll get in.” Rin wasn’t quite sure what’s going on. He'd been thinking about Gou’s message, Seijuurou’s text, Momotarou’s little affectionate ways with him... Rin had a slight suspicion he knew what happened last weekend, but no way of confirming it - until the younger member began tearing up.

                “I wanted to swim with you! I don’t want to wait until next year. You won’t even be swimming next year. I joined this team so that I could swim with you.” He was louder than he meant to be, he sounded more angry and upset than he felt he should. It honestly felt like rejection on a whole different plane.

The captain nodded slowly. “I know, and I’m sorry. But those are the rules.” He was well aware that Momotarou hadn’t taken the exams yet, and because of that the school was unlikely to allow him to participate anyway. When he saw the younger male's crying worsen, Rin pulled him into a light hug. He was fairly sure that he's pieced everything together now. All of their time alone over the last several months, the less Momotarou spoke about Gou over that time, the weird awkward moments when Momotarou would make awed compliments and comments about his body; the hugs, the tackles.

                Momo clung to him. “Even if it’s not swimming, I just want to be near you.” The young male cried. “Let me be with you, captain.” He could feel his heart about to burst, he was sure that he had never liked anyone more. Every sort of feelings he'd had for people in the past paled in comparison.

“Tell you what, Momo. When I finish school, we’ll have a race against the Iwatobi guys, and we’ll have Seijuurou on our team. And in your third year; if you really still want to be with me, then I will take you.” His tone was smooth and sweet. Rin knew that Momotarou was young, which is exactly why he didn’t want to get involved yet. He realised that he was attached to this little guy in several ways, and one of those ways, at this age, could lead to a lot of hurt if things didn’t work out. Which is exactly why he needed Momotarou to wait.

                Mikoshiba settled slightly, looking up at Rin with a tear stained smile. "You'll swim with me? And wait for me to grow up? You mean it, captain?"

“I do.”


End file.
